Chapter 21

Analytical Writing Foundations and Content Review

Introduction to Analytical Writing Foundations and Content Review

The GRE tests your ability to construct a coherent, logical, and well-developed response to a writing prompt. This requires a mastery of the elements of formal standard English, including grammar, usage, and punctuation. It also means writing in an effective style that communicates ideas in an engaging and readable way. To sum up, you want to write correctly, clearly, and concisely. Here are the important concepts you need to know:

Writing Correctly Avoiding sentence fragments and run-ons Ensuring subject-verb agreement Using pronouns to refer to nouns Using modifiers correctly Using parallel structure effectively Using commas correctly Using semicolons and colons correctly Using apostrophes correctly

Writing Clearly Using a variety of sentence structures Using active voice rather than passive voice Opening sentences strongly Writing Concisely Removing unnecessary sentences Avoiding needless self-reference Streamlining wordy phrases Eliminating redundancy Avoiding excessive qualification

This chapter will cover all of these writing concepts, providing practice sets for each. At the end of the chapter, you’ll find more tips for practicing and proofreading your writing to help you craft the most effective essays possible on the GRE Analytical Writing Measure.